A UK education is a long investment, and the visa rules around it now change almost yearly — dependant restrictions, tighter compliance, and a post-study route about to shorten. Connaught Law's student visa solicitors act for students, families and education providers: applications done right first time, problems fixed fast, and the route beyond graduation planned early.
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How We Can Help
Student Visa Applications
The Student visa follows a fixed sequence: an unconditional offer and Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies from a licensed sponsor, then the application proving finances, English and — where interviewed — genuine student intent. Each stage has traps: CAS details that don't match documents, funds held wrongly or for too short a period, credibility interviews taken lightly. We run the sequence so the traps don't spring.
Requirements & Evidence
Financial evidence sinks more student applications than anything else: the required tuition and maintenance funds must be held in the right form, by the right person, for the required consecutive period, and evidenced by documents the rules recognise. Add English language proof, academic documents, and TB certificates for some nationalities — a checklist that rewards preparation weeks before the application, which is when we like to see it.
Dependants
The rules here changed hard: most taught-course students can no longer bring partners and children — dependants are now largely limited to postgraduate research students and government-sponsored cases. For families this reshapes study plans, and sometimes the right answer is a different course, provider or route entirely. We advise before decisions are locked in, not after the family is split by a rule nobody mentioned.
The Graduate Route
The post-study Graduate route currently allows two years' unsponsored work after graduation — three for doctoral graduates — but is due to shorten to eighteen months from 2027, which makes graduation timing and application timing genuinely valuable. Used well, the route is a bridge: time to secure a sponsored role and switch to the Skilled Worker route before the clock runs out. We plan the bridge before students cross it.
Switching & Staying On
Students and graduates switch into work routes, family routes and further study — each with its own timing rules about when and from where you can apply. The expensive mistakes are calendar mistakes: leave expiring before the switch, courses ending earlier than assumed, absences complicating later settlement. A route map made early costs little and saves years.
Refusals & Problems
Student refusals — credibility doubts, financial evidence defects, CAS problems — usually offer administrative review or a corrected fresh application, on tight timelines that intersect with course start dates. Mid-course problems bite harder: sponsor licence loss, course changes and withdrawal all trigger visa consequences that reward fast advice. Our refusal team handles both ends.
How We Work
For students and families: a document review before anything is submitted — finances, CAS, English — with the fixes made while they're still cheap, and interview preparation where credibility will be tested. For agents and education providers: a solicitor partner for the cases that don't fit the standard pattern, and compliance advice that keeps sponsor licences safe.
Above all we plan in years, not applications: course, post-study route, work switch, settlement — because the students who end up settled are the ones whose route was mapped at the start.
Why Connaught Law
01Right first timeFinancial and CAS evidence checked to the rules' letter — refusals prevented at the document stage.
02Current on the changesDependant rules, Graduate route timing, compliance shifts — advice that reflects this year's rules, not last year's.
03Senior attention throughoutYour application is run by our experienced immigration team, not passed down — with direct access to the person handling it.
04The long route mappedStudy to Graduate route to Skilled Worker to settlement — planned as one journey from the first call.
Fee structures are set out on our fees page — fixed fees for student applications, agreed before we start.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the UK student visa requirements?
An unconditional offer and CAS from a licensed sponsor, proof of tuition and maintenance funds held correctly for the required period, English language at the required level, and — for some applicants — a credibility interview about your study intentions. The requirements are mechanical; meeting them in the exact evidential form the rules demand is where applications fail.
Can I bring my family on a UK student visa?
Only in limited cases now — broadly postgraduate research students and government-sponsored students can bring dependants; most taught-course students cannot. If studying with your family matters, course and route choice should be made with that rule in front of you, and we advise on the configurations that keep families together.
How long can I stay in the UK after graduating?
The Graduate route currently gives two years of unsponsored work — three for PhD graduates — and is due to shorten to eighteen months from 2027. Treat it as a bridge, not a destination: the students who thrive use it to land a sponsored role and switch to Skilled Worker well before it expires.
Can I work while studying in the UK?
Usually yes, within limits — typically up to 20 hours a week in term time for degree-level students at higher education providers, full-time in vacations, with some work types prohibited. The limits are enforced and breaches endanger both your visa and future applications, so know your exact permission before taking work.
Studying in the UK — or planning to?
Tell us the course and the long-term goal. We'll check the application before it's filed and map the route that follows graduation — while the timing still works for you.
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